Monthly Archives: September 2010

Santana moss sits dejected after the Rams beat the Redskins 30-16. His fumble essentially cost the Skins a touchdown, but without him the loss would have been much worse. Moss finished with six receptions, 124 yards and one touchdown.

Even when it was 14-0, I wasn’t scared. A few mistakes put the Redskins in a hole quick in the first quarter, but hey, this wasn’t a Jim Zorn coached team, Mike friggin Shanahan coaches the 2010 squad. Then it got worse. Much worse. The Redskins have now lost three of their last four games when facing the Rams, the last win being an awful 9-6 game last year at FedEx Field.

The Redskins played strikingly similar to the 2009 Redskins, picking up a few yards before failing to move the chains again. They allowed the Rams to go 7-16 on third down conversions, most of them coming in the second half. Haslett, that’s on you. It’s unacceptable to allow the back-up running back for the Rams to run three times in a row, picking up 5-10 yards every time.

The biggest problems came in defending the run game and the short passes Bradford so easily completed. The only time the Rams were successful through the air was when he threw the ball almost immediately after the snap. Running the 3-4, this should not happen. It is not unreasonable to place the blame of that game solely on Jim Haslett. His defensive play calling was horrendous and he failed to make any changes.

There was no offense. None. What they did accomplish, they found ways to negate it with false starts and dumb penalties. I’ve been to the Edward Jones Dome, IT IS NOT A LOUD STADIUM. Me using caps is louder than Rams fans get that stadium.

Other losers:

Devin Thomas – paging Mr Thomas, paging Mr Thomas.

Donovan McNabb – never found his rhythm and couldn’t get consistent. Much like last week, he couldn’t hit the mark down the field to Galloway which could have been at least two touchdowns. He also didn’t have an…

Offensive line – You guys are awful. If they had been protecting Jason Campbell, the Rams would have eight sacks. Thankfully McNabb is still mobile. But the player who specifically sucked was…

Kareem Moore – nice interception, but it doesn’t make up for missing easy tackles to allow the Rams into scoring position.

Graham Gano – kick out of bounds on the opening kick-off is inexcusable ALWAYS. The punting was average, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for not being the starting punter.

Clinton Portis – It was hard to tell if he slipped or fell to avoid the hit, but when you sit and pout on the bench because the coaches want to use another back in the running game, you get no love. Get up, put your helmet on, and stand on the sidelines.

Albert Haynesworth – as much as I did like him on the field attracting double teams and clearing up space for the backers, you are not a slave. Never say you are treated like a slave. YOU MAKE $100 MILLION!

The frustration is the same as last, and the team needs a lot of work this week to be ready for the Eagles. I’m already depressed from that loss. Seacrest out.

It hurts when you blow a 20-7 halftime lead. That’s obvious, but the Redskins showed what they were capable of, good and bad. For three quarters, Donovan McNabb and the offense looked unstoppable but sputtered toward the end. The truth is, the Redskins played a great team and an offense that annihilated the Colts in week one. When one of the best quarterbacks in the league (yes, Shaub is one of the best) is able to target as good a wide receiver as Andre Johnson on 75% of the passing plays, it can be hard to stop. Yesterday, it proved nearly impossible for them.

The secondary has been questionable because of the lack of depth and loss of safety Kareem Moore, and there was no doubt that if the Texans were going to come back, they would look for that lethal Shaub-Johnson combination. They did. That happens. Let’s move on.

McNabb showed Redskins fans why the front office traded for him, accounting for 403 passing yards on the day, an astronomical number after so many awful offensive seasons under Campbell. Granted, the offense broke down in the fourth quarter, but when an offense has such a great day through the air like that, they have to win. The blame needs to be placed on the running game which still hasn’t found its legs. 18 yards is never going to cut it. At least we know what the offense is capable of in just the second week of the season. We even know what the defense is capable of and that was after the first game.

Usually after a loss like this, I would feel awful, recounting all the horrific plays that cost us the game. Yesterday, the Texans played out of their minds to fight their way back. I can pick out a few plays that cost us (the Heyer hold, Horton’s offside, the blocked and missed field goals), but those are things that happen in games. Those were not necessarily plays to dwell on.

Shaub found holes down the middle and anywhere Johnson was. Yesterday was one of those days that no matter what the Redskins defense did, they weren’t going to stop that offense.

Yes, there are problems Haslett needs to address on the defensive side of the ball but between week one and week two, the Redskins played two of the best games defensively and offensively. Now they just need to do both in a single game.

1-1 isn’t a bad place to be after two weeks, though 2-0 would be a better position. Look for the Redskins to retool the defense next Sunday at St Louis and find ways to fill holes.

Geez, I can’t believe how fine I am with a loss like that. Wow. Just wow.

[Update: Clinton Portis via the Redskins PR department has issued an apology. See bottom of post for that.]

Clinton Portis has always been an outspoken person, letting his comments fly, seemingly without any prior thought to the situation. This morning on the Mike Wise Show on 106.7 The Fan was no different.

[Note: Holden Kushner and Brian Mitchell were hosting the show. Mike Wise is out all week.]

“You know man, I think you put women reporters in the locker room in positions to see guys walking around naked, and you sit in the locker room with 53 guys, and all of the sudden you see a nice woman in the locker room, I think men are gonna tend to turn and look and want to say something to that woman. For the woman, I think they make it so much that you can’t interact and you can’t be involved with athletes, you can’t talk to these guys, you can’t interact with these guys.

“And I mean, you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her. You know, somebody got to spark her interest, or she’s gonna want somebody. I don’t know what kind of woman won’t, if you get to go and look at 53 men’s packages. And you’re just sitting here, saying ‘Oh, none of this is attractive to me.’ I know you’re doing a job, but at the same time, the same way I’m gonna cut my eye if I see somebody worth talking to, I’m sure they do the same thing.”

So apparently cat-calling is a completely normal thing for Portis and it would be impossible for a female reporter to not jump on one of these athletes and look for a go-round when they step in the locker room and see athletes naked. Sounds very Roethlisberger-esque to me. Sainz and other female reporters are not there to fraternize, they are there to do their jobs. They know this. Portis and other athletes apparently do not. This kind of attitude is something I’ve come to expect from professional or collegiate athletes (though not all), but to think the reporters are there to find someone to hook up with is a ridiculous notion. At least they are professional enough to realize that. There’s a big difference between looking at someone beautiful and verbally harassing them because of how they look.

This is not a conversation of how female reporters are dressed, though they should always dress professionally, but to how athletes respond to women because of the way they feel they deserve the attention. Not everyone has the idea that women are around simply to throw themselves at men. They are professionals and they are there to do their jobs.

It doesn’t matter if you’re going to “cut” your eye, but it doesn’t mean they are there to do the same. The Roethlisberger situation, as well as this one, has shown that professional athletes need to show more respect to women in every manner of life whether it is at a bar, a club, in the locker room or out on the street. Now that’s something they need to add to the rookie symposium.

[Statement from the NFL: “The comments are clearly inappropriate, offensive and and have no place in the NFL,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement (tweeted by The New York Times’ Judy Battista). “We have contacted the Redskins & they will discuss the matter directly w/Mr. Portis.”]

[The Redskins are expected to release a statement later today. I’ll be sure to post that here on DMV Sports as well.]

“I was wrong to make the comments I did, and I apologize. I respect the job that all reporters do. It is a tough job and we all have to work and act in a professional manner. I understand and support the team on these issues.”

I’m sure I could write a few thousand words about last night’s game, but I’ll keep it short and in bullet form so it’s a bit easier to follow.

-First off: Wow. Wow. And wow. That was another prime example of why this rivalry is as heated as it is. It came down to the last play which actually could have gone either way if it weren’t for a dumb offensive lineman. But you won’t see me complaining about a win. A win is a win is a win. And that was a win. Did I mention that was a win.

-As much as I hate on DeAngelo Hall’s tackling inabilities, that strip, return and TD won the game last night. On the flipside of that play, what were the Cowboy’s doing? The play call was awful and Romo’s decision to toss it short for what would obviously be little to no gain was atrocious… in a good way. I nearly put a smiley face emoticon after that sentence.

-The defense shined as I knew they would. For some reason, the Redskins defense never gets the kind of respect they deserve. Last night, they showed the league they are capable of holding last year’s number two defense and a popular Super Bowl pick, to just seven points. Haslett was aggressive in his play calling and put a lot of pressure on the offensive line. My one qualm is with the safety and corner blitzes. They weren’t effective and resulted in Dez Bryant and Miles Austin getting open too many times.

-I’ve heard people say the Cowboys lost that game themselves, and while they did shoot themselves in the foot in so many important situations, the Redskins won that game. The Cowboys had little option but to intentionally hold the defensive pass rush, including Alex Barron on Brian Orakpo on that final play. Yes, the Cowboys had tons of penalties, but they were penalties that actively prevented Redskins players from being able to be effective.

-Donovan McNabb looked shaky in his first start in the burgundy and gold but found Santana Moss and Chris Cooley when he needed to. I have no doubt he’ll be able to pick it up this season, but tonight was pretty ugly. The offensive line was adequate against a good pass rush. The running game? Oh the running game. The BIG difference is they made no mistakes.

-Burgundy jerseys. Gold pants. Yes.

-Not enough can be said about the enthusiasm of all the Redskins fans at FedEx Field last night. They were there early, they were loud and they certainly influenced the game. A lot of people have said this rivalry has lost its luster since the glory days, but don’t tell the 90,000 people at the game last night. That was the biggest game at FedEx in years.

-Albert Haynesworth is a salty bitch. Nice facial expression ALL GAME, you dummy.

“Man, they threw the book at me.” Morgan said “What did I do? I feel I haven’t done anything. They are blowing this way out of proportion because I’m a hard-nosed player — because I knocked over a catcher. They throw the ball at me. Come on, what am I supposed to do? I have to take this and try to keep playing.”

Clearly, something has gone wrong in Nyjer’s head, especially after this quote:

“I don’t understand what I did wrong to get an eight-game suspension. They make it seem like I’m Mike Tyson.”

Jim Riggleman also received a two-game suspension and fine, likely for his verbal actions in the brawl. Doug Slaten was also suspended three games for intentionally throwing at the Marlins’ Gaby Sanchez after a warning was issued to both teams. Slaten and Riggleman were thrown out of the game for the intentional beaning.

Nationals third base coach Pat Listach, the first National to come to the defense of Morgan, has been suspended three games and fined.

An interesting note: all the fines were for inappropriate comments and were levied by former Nationals manager Frank Robinson who now works for the league.

Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad was suspended six games for his involvement in the brawl which really means just two actual games. Alex Sanabia (five games), Gaby Sanchez (three games) and Jose Veras (fine) of the Marlins were also disciplined for their actions in the brawl.

There is no more hated team by Redskins fans than that of the Dallas Cowboys making the lead-up to any game against the Texas franchise a heated one. In 2010, the Redskins will take that intensity to the next level with a number of opportunities for fans of the team to get ready for the 8 p.m. kickoff on September 12.

The most notable difference from any other week of the NFL season is that the parking lots will open for tailgating at noon for the eight p.m. game so fans can get enough “soda” in them to get them ready for what many fans consider the biggest home game of the season. They will also set up five video boards around the stadium so fans can catch all the action of the 1 p.m. and 4p p.m. games. You can bet that the atmosphere will be a lot different from the usual games at FedEx. More time to tailgate, night game, and the organization stepping up Beat Dallas week will all play a factor in the way FedEx feels September 12.

The Redskins will also be pushing efforts to pump up Redskins fans around the area during the week.

Redskins will kick off on Tuesday with official proclamations from the District, Loudon, Fairfax, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties including wagers between Texas counterparts on the outcome of the game.

Daniel Snyder owned ESPN 980 will broadcast live from Morton’s The Steakhouse in DC for a day long”Beat Dallas” party on Wednesday. Honk if you Hate Dallas day is Thursday with Redskins personalities spread throughout the area encouraging commuters to, well, honk if you hate Dallas.

My personal favorite event will be Friday when the Redskins cheerleaders will be on the Today Show handing out “Beat Dallas” t-shirts to the crowd. Oh, how I wish I could be in New York on Friday.

The organization will also take part in giving back to the community, including players handing out backpacks of school supplies as well appearances by Redskins players, coaches, and owner Daniel Snyderaround the area.

The scheduling could not have been better with the Redskins playing Dallas on week one for Sunday Night Football on NBC. It’s great to have football back.

Nyjer Morgan has had a tough season and it all culminated in last night’s brawl with the Marlins. The past week in particular has been tough, including two criticized run-ins with catchers, throwing a ball into the stands and now the brawl. The focus on the brawl so far has been the lawless nature in which Morgan approached last night’s game, questioning his motives in charging the mound. But why? Was what Morgan did really that wrong?

Let’s start with how Volstad approached the game, looking for revenge for Morgan separating the shoulder of Marlins catcher Brett Hayes the day before. Morgan was beaned in last night’s game in retaliation for the fair play at the plate which many have criticized for reasons unknown to me. Volstad beaned three Nationals players before the brawl, something a reasonable umpire would have ejected the pitcher for considering the rough nature of this series.

What happened after Morgan was hit by a pitch was the breaking of an unwritten rule of baseball, stealing two bases to take third. This upset Gaby Sanchez, as well as a number of other Marlins players.

“You really don’t do that in baseball. I can understand if it was a four-run lead and they hit you on purpose and you go ahead and steal second and steal third, then I don’t think it’s anything of a big deal. But when the team’s down by 11, we’re not really holding him on, we’re not really doing anything, and he ends up stealing second and stealing third? I know that a lot of the guys were upset about the whole situation. So just try to hit him again kind of thing.”

So what’s with this ridiculous “unwritten rule” forbidding a beaned player from stealing two bases? When it’s so early in the game and the team is down big, what’s the problem with doing whatever you can to get back in the game? If anything, it makes even less sense to do what Morgan did if his team was leading.

Why more retaliation on Volstad’s part? Barring a monstrous collapse, the game was in hand. More retaliation by the Marlins was out of line and uncalled for. Morgan had every right to feel slighted by the actions of the Marlins pitcher and to place sole blame for the brawl on the outfielder is ridiculous.

It was good to see third base coach Pat Listach defend Morgan immediately and Riggleman after the game. Here’s a quote from Riggleman about the lead-up to the incident:

“No, I think they were going hit him again anyway, and I’m glad Nyjer stole those bases to tell you the truth. They hit him, he went to first base, he took his medicine. I don’t know that yesterday’s play was right or wrong, but we were going to let it go. Nyjer went to first base, but if they hit you and you feel like you didn’t do anything wrong, which that’s the way Nyjer felt about it, he took those bases, that’s his business. We’ll decide when we run, we don’t let anyone else decided when we run. So whatever their reason was for throwing at Nyjer again, I’ve got no problems with what took place after that.

Morgan’s actions have been questionable the last week, but the enthusiasm he brings to the team is a welcome change over the usually quiet nature of the organization. After these incidents, I don’t expect to see Morgan in the line-up next year, and if that’s the same approach the Nationals front office takes, it certainly was a pleasure to see a guy with a lot of emotion on the field.

A lot of it has been antics and I can’t advocated everything Morgan has done, but to solely blame the young Nats outfielder is ludicrous.

[And if you haven’t seen the brawl yet, here’s a Youtube video MLB hasn’t taken down… yet.]

Get DMV Sports in your inbox!

Click here to receive an email every time we have a new post at DMV Sports.

Join 7 other followers

DMV Sports – Alex Keckeisen

DMV Sports in a nutshell

I'm a journalism and political science major at the University of Missouri, though originally from Alexandria, VA. I grew up reading the Washington Post Sports section and attending games all over the DMV. I cover the Redskins, Capitals, Nationals, DC United and Wizards from an insider's view, even though I'm 1,000 miles away.